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.NET Development
.NET Framework 4
Control Class
Control Properties
 Enabled Property
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.NET Framework Class Library
Control..::.Enabled Property

Gets or sets a value indicating whether the control can respond to user interaction.

Namespace:  System.Windows.Forms
Assembly:  System.Windows.Forms (in System.Windows.Forms.dll)
Visual Basic
Public Property Enabled As Boolean
C#
public bool Enabled { get; set; }
Visual C++
public:
property bool Enabled {
    bool get ();
    void set (bool value);
}
F#
member Enabled : bool with get, set

Property Value

Type: System..::.Boolean
true if the control can respond to user interaction; otherwise, false. The default is true.

With the Enabled property, you can enable or disable controls at run time. For example, you can disable controls that do not apply to the current state of the application. You can also disable a control to restrict its use. For example, a button can be disabled to prevent the user from clicking it. If a control is disabled, it cannot be selected.

Important noteImportant

Setting the Enabled property to false does not disable the application's control box or prevent the application window from receiving the focus.

When a container control has its enabled property set to false, all its contained controls are disabled, as well. For example, if the user clicks on any of the controls contained in a disabled GroupBox control, no events are raised.

NoteNote

When a scrollable control is disabled, the scroll bars are also disabled. For example, a disabled multiline textbox is unable to scroll to display all the lines of text.

The following code example creates a GroupBox and sets some of its common properties. The example creates a TextBox and sets its Location within the group box. Next, it sets the Text property of the group box, and docks the group box to the top of the form. Lastly, it disables the group box by setting the Enabled property to false, which causes all controls contained within the group box to be disabled.

Visual Basic
' Add a GroupBox to a form and set some of its common properties.
Private Sub AddMyGroupBox()
   ' Create a GroupBox and add a TextBox to it.
   Dim groupBox1 As New GroupBox()
   Dim textBox1 As New TextBox()
   textBox1.Location = New Point(15, 15)
   groupBox1.Controls.Add(textBox1)

   ' Set the Text and Dock properties of the GroupBox.
   groupBox1.Text = "MyGroupBox"
   groupBox1.Dock = DockStyle.Top

   ' Disable the GroupBox (which disables all its child controls)
   groupBox1.Enabled = False

   ' Add the Groupbox to the form.
   Me.Controls.Add(groupBox1)
End Sub
C#
// Add a GroupBox to a form and set some of its common properties.
private void AddMyGroupBox()
{
   // Create a GroupBox and add a TextBox to it.
   GroupBox groupBox1 = new GroupBox();
   TextBox textBox1 = new TextBox();
   textBox1.Location = new Point(15, 15);
   groupBox1.Controls.Add(textBox1);

   // Set the Text and Dock properties of the GroupBox.
   groupBox1.Text = "MyGroupBox";
   groupBox1.Dock = DockStyle.Top;

   // Disable the GroupBox (which disables all its child controls)
   groupBox1.Enabled = false;

   // Add the Groupbox to the form.
   this.Controls.Add(groupBox1);
}
Visual C++
   // Add a GroupBox to a form and set some of its common properties.
private:
   void AddMyGroupBox()
   {
      // Create a GroupBox and add a TextBox to it.
      GroupBox^ groupBox1 = gcnew GroupBox;
      TextBox^ textBox1 = gcnew TextBox;
      textBox1->Location = Point(15,15);
      groupBox1->Controls->Add( textBox1 );

      // Set the Text and Dock properties of the GroupBox.
      groupBox1->Text = "MyGroupBox";
      groupBox1->Dock = DockStyle::Top;

      // Disable the GroupBox (which disables all its child controls)
      groupBox1->Enabled = false;

      // Add the Groupbox to the form.
      this->Controls->Add( groupBox1 );
   }

.NET Framework

Supported in: 4, 3.5, 3.0, 2.0, 1.1, 1.0

.NET Framework Client Profile

Supported in: 4, 3.5 SP1

Windows 7, Windows Vista SP1 or later, Windows XP SP3, Windows XP SP2 x64 Edition, Windows Server 2008 (Server Core not supported), Windows Server 2008 R2 (Server Core supported with SP1 or later), Windows Server 2003 SP2

The .NET Framework does not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.
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